Decorative wheel covers have adorned vehicle wheels for almost a century. More recently, attempts have been made to provide lighted or illuminated wheel covers. While there are many commercial applications of electrical lamps, particularly light emitting diodes (LEDs), to various nonrotating parts of vehicles, few solutions to the illumination of rotating vehicle wheels have been commercially successful.
The environment surrounding a typical vehicle wheel is a hostile place for electrical lamps (including LEDs) and the electronics that drive them. An automobile wheel rotates at speeds of up to 17 revolutions per second or more, depending on vehicle speed and rim and tire size. The surface over which the wheel is travelling often is bumpy. The wheel is routinely exposed to water, silica, road salt and other particulate and fluid substances. A commercially successful illuminated wheel, therefore, must withstand all of these environmental stresses and still function.